Bridger case amended to first-degree murder charge

COLUMBIA – A 24-year-old Columbia man charged with the 2010 murder of 67-year-old Aletha Turner is now being charged with first-degree murder.

In addition to one count of first-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree burglary, one felony stealing, and three counts of forgery, Ryan Bridger had been charged with the second-degree murder of Turner. According to Missouri Case.net, this charge has been amended to first-degree murder.

Bridger has been charged with breaking into Turner’s home Dec. 17, 2010 and shooting her in the head with a small-caliber gun that he admitted to stealing from the victim's brother. Turner was found unconscious in her home Dec. 20 and died two days later at University Hospital.

The felony stealing and forgery charges were added to the murder and burglary charges when the Boone County Prosecuting Attorney's office combined the Dec. 17 shooting with the incident at Turner's brother's home.